Post by klinemj on Mar 27, 2019 11:43:04 GMT -5
To be honest - just for fun.
I've been using a Raspberry Pi as my music source for quite some time...
I use its built-in USB output, which seems to work flawlessly for me, with either my DC-1 or my XMC-1...
I don't do any network streaming - and I use Volumio and a local USB hard drive.
I would expect the Coax connection to sound the same - or, if slightly different, then pretty much equal, compared to USB.
So, to me, it would be on the same level of interest as test driving friend's cars... to see how they drive.
I have very little expectation that the HiFiBerry DAC would match either the DC-1 or the DACs in the XMC-1 - but I would expect it to be at least pretty good.
However, since I have no inclination to use an outboard DAC, rather than the excellent ones built into my XMC-1, I'm not especially interested in how close the HiFiBerry one might be.
I should also point out that, while the options that support Roon are somewhat limited, one of the fun things about the Raspberry Pi is that you have many software choices...
Most of them are free...
Most of them don't take much effort to install...
And, best of all, you can install each on its own micro-SD card...
(This allows you to install, listen to, and even collect, a virtually unlimited number of different "virtual players".... micro-SD cards are really cheap nowadays).
This means that, rather than having to wipe your settings, or replace your current firmware and configuration files, and lose your work, every time you try something new...
You can simply start with a new micro-SD card, save the one that you liked, and plug it back in later when you want to use it again.
Essentially, you can have a whole collection of different Raspberry Pis, with different software on each, for the cost of a few extra micro-SD cards.
(Buy two Raspberry Pi units, and a dozen SD cards, and you can compare any two whenever you feel like it...)
I should also point out something to anyone considering a dedicated streamer device...
A lot of the software for the Raspberry Pi is "headless"...
When you run Volumio, the software runs on the Raspberry Pi, and you control it from a web browser on some other device...
The down-side of this is that you MUST have a computer or smart phone turned on to control Volumio...
However, once you tell it what to play, you can close your web browser, and even turn your computer off if you like, and it will continue to do what you've instructed it to do...
The up-side is that very few all-in-one players have a 24" full-HD display on the front (which is what I have on the computer in my living room at the moment).
(And, if you want a "dedicated display", you can purchase a small laptop or tablet, and leave it permanently connected, for far less than the cost of a purpose-built player with a big display on the front.)
I agree that the Pi is a nice little trouble-free streamer, and I do like the options to just plug in a different card and be using a different player. For me, having a computer handy is no issue. I use a MS Surface for my emails, social media, accessing my financial accounts, reading/writing on the lounge, so...I have it handy most of the time. And, I can use any of the players with it. I now prefer Roon, but Volumio was interesting. Now that I have my NAS connected to my router, getting to it would be easier but I like Roon better overall and RoPieee is great. My main interest in the DAC is to possibly replace the DC-1 at a headphone station and use the $ to buy a 2nd BasX A100 for a 2nd headphone station. So, the DAC from HifiBerry will be a fun test.
Mark
